


Tactical Advantage

by Zerrat



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Community: ff_land, F/F, Fluff, Magic, Mid-Canon, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-15
Updated: 2013-02-01
Packaged: 2017-11-25 15:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/640122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrat/pseuds/Zerrat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sick of being considered a 'one-trick chocobo' by some of the members of their rag-tag group, Fang takes it upon herself to learn how to use elemental magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vigor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the month-long contest over at the livejournal community FF_Land - or at least the first part was. A second part is upcoming, which will conclude the fic.
> 
> Edits made 3 July 2013.

Fang supposed that, at some level, she'd known that going hunting with Snow and Hope would be a huge mistake. Vanille had been cooking dinner back at base camp, Lightning had been busy doing maintenance on her weapon and Sazh was trying to catch a few extra zeds of sleep. _Really_ , those two had been the only choice. 

Still, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t regret her decision now that her error had been thrown in her face yet again. 

"Nice shot with that sweet blizzard spell! Perfect timing too, got him hard in the face so we could finish him off like a _breeze_ ," Snow was telling Hope energetically, full of nothing but endless praise for the kid thanks to that quick stagger. Hope was a little flushed, maybe too used to Lightning's tough-love regime, and he was smiling like a fool.

Fang rested her lance on her shoulder, tuning them out as she surveyed the wide, sunny Steppe. She really had no interest in all the gritty details of elemental spell casting, so listening to Snow and Hope gush over one another's technique was just a tad grating.

"-I'm sure if Fang did anything but hit things and _get_ hit, she'd be all over this too! I mean, you _halved_ your casting time, how awesome is that?"

The first bit seized Fang's attention with the grip of a rabid lobo, and she looked over to them with a frown.

"Wait, _what_ did you just say?" Fang rode straight over Hope's explanation, feeling just a bit miffed at how _delicately_ Snow had just described her fighting style. Hitting stuff and getting hit? He’d clearly missed the subtle brilliance of her style, and besides. That was the pot calling the kettle black, wasn't it?

Snow stared at her, completely perplexed for a moment, before he smiled in a way he must have thought was reassuring.

"Hey, nothing bad was meant by it, I promise. We're all good at something, and you're good at..." Snow waved his hand vaguely, his smile becoming a little crooked as Fang continued to glare at him. "Well, hitting stuff really hard."

Simmering silently, Fang debating giving him another demonstration of just how hard she could throw a punch. She swallowed the urge as she turned on her heel and began to walk back to base camp. After a few paces she cast a dark look behind her to make sure they were following along.

They thought she was a one-trick chocobo, did they? Well, she'd soon show Snow and Hope a thing or two.

###

Fang approached Vanille first, while her sister was buzzing around the campfire and preparing that night's dinner. Vanille had looked a little puzzled at Fang's request to be taught elemental magic, and then delighted as she decided that it could be another way they could make up for lost time. She had sat herself down on the grass, just across the fire from Fang. Her face was serene as she held out her hand, her palm upwards.

"Focus on me, and in here," Vanille said as she tapped the side of her head with the finger of her free hand, and Fang shifted her shoulders, grimacing. It sounded easy, and if Hope and _Snow_ could do it, she knew she'd have it nailed soon enough.

Water began to pool above the palm of Vanille's hand, condensing out from the air around them. It began to thread through her fingers like a ribbon, and Fang heard her sister laugh a little before it formed a sphere above her hand again. After a few moments, the intense look in Vanille’s eyes faded, and she let the water splash down to the grassy earth.

Fang watched the water seep through the grass blades, silently chewing at her lip. It all looked pretty enough, but she’d be damned if she could understand what she’d been meant to get out of that little show. 

"Did you feel anything?" Vanille asked finally, and Fang shook her head. 

"Not a thing." Fang sighed, stretching out her hand and glaring at it. "Is it meant to feel like a deprotect spell? A daze?" 

Status spells she knew, at least. 

Vanille looked at her for a moment, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "No, not much like those at all. It comes from... Well, you feel it in your _head_ ,not your chest. If that makes sense. Maybe you should just give it a go?"

Fang set her jaw, resisting the urge to ask how she was meant to 'give it a go' what she had no idea of what she was _meant_ to be doing, and obediently turned her gaze to her outstretched hand. She did as Vanille bade her, focusing inwards. She tried to ignore the feeling of the status magic and defensive spells already inside her, looking for something that felt like aero or blizzard, or even _thunder_. She felt sweat trickle down between her shoulder blades, and the sensation was distracting even as she brushed by something tiny and _different_ in her head and she knew for sure that it was what she was looking for.

Just when Fang thought she had it, that tiny, untrained bundle of magic slipped from her grasp, again and again. After what felt like an eternity, Fang’s eyes snapped open and she cursed and punched the ground. 

"I felt it. The hell if I know how to _use_ it, though. Just slips away, like..." Fang exhaled sharply, looking up at Vanille. "Again?"

Vanille nodded. "Again."

Half an hour of internal wrestling later, Fang still had not even felt so much of a whisper of elemental magic on her skin, let alone produced something like a full-fledged spell. How the hell could that _be_? Why were all the _Cocoon_ born l'Cie so damn gifted at elemental magic? Fang clenched her sweaty hands, glaring at Vanille.

"So what do I do now? Give up?" Fang demanded, trying not to sound as bothered by the whole fiasco as she actually felt. Vanille shot her a slightly irritated look, as if the failure was all _Fang's_ fault, before sighing. 

"Maybe I'm not the one who should be teaching you." Vanille held up her hand quickly to stay Fang's vehement protests. "We see magic _very_ differently, I think."

"What are you suggesting, then? That I learn from Hope?" Fang scoffed, and Vanille rolled her eyes. 

"Your pride is going to be the end of you, you know." Vanille then muttered something else that sounded uncomplimentary under her breath while Fang laughed, before continuing. "I was talking about Lightning."

"Lightning?" Now _that_ got Fang's attention, even if she quickly smoothed her sudden eagerness over. "Why would I want to learn from Lightning?"

"She's doing things with elemental magic that I've never seen _done_ before." Vanille looked thoughtful. "Her magic philosophy... Well, maybe it'll match up with yours better than mine does." 

Fang looked over to the shade of the nearest cliff, where she could see Lightning messing about with her weapon, and very deliberately shrugged. 

"Sure, I suppose it can't hurt to try."

###

"You want to learn elemental magic?" Lightning looked a little surprised at Fang's request, and Fang had to quash her immediate irritation at having been asked that same question twice now. Instead, she smiled.

"Sure. Thought it was about time I learned some real magic." Fang watched Lightning's eyes narrow, as if the other woman expected a punch line. 

When none came, Lightning said slowly, "As opposed to your status spells, which suddenly aren't magic?"

The smile fell away from Fang's face, and she crossed her arms defensively. "Look, will you help me out or not? I don't want to stand around and get grilled about this. Call it learning for learning's sake if it means that much to you. Etro."

Lightning said nothing, silently prompting her, and Fang sighed. 

"I _did_ ask Vanille first, but she..." Fang looked up at the afternoon sky, frustrated. "She thinks you could teach me some of those elemental strikes of yours. Just to get me started."

Lightning seemed to relax at that admission, and finally, she nodded.

"I can try to help, but no promises." Lightning was smiling slightly as she began to reassemble her weapon, and Fang felt herself returning it. 

"That's all I could really ask," Fang replied, and when Lightning had finished her weapon assembly, she followed the other woman some distance from the base camp. 

They finally came to a brightly lit section of the ravine, and the colours of the world suddenly seemed intense as Fang watched Lightning stop a few paces ahead of her. She rested her hand on her hip, and Fang heard her mutter something under her breath as she turned around. Her weapon was drawn, her blue eyes serious but surprisingly relaxed.

"Draw your weapon," Lightning ordered softly, and Fang reached for her lance, letting its weight reassure her as she sank into a fighting position.

"As much as I like sparring, Lightning, you do know that I was after the elemental spells, right?" Fang asked with a laugh, and the woman shot her a narrow look. 

"I'm aware. However, I learned my magic through battle and the _need_ to know it. I know you're the same - you learn from combat, not by sitting around on the grass staring at your hands," Lightning said dryly, and Fang wondered how much she'd witnessed of the session with Vanille. 

Probably all of it, Fang decided grimly as Lightning levelled her blade in her direction. 

"When you hit me, I don't want you to put all of your strength behind the strike. I know you're strong, you don't need to prove that here." Lightning circled Fang, waiting. She moved with her usual deadly grace, and it was difficult not to become distracted by the sunlight in her hair and the flex of iron muscles underneath her skin. 

"You will use a fraction of your strength, but the area of effect around your blade will be higher, and it will be more damaging to an enemy's natural defences," Lightning continued, dodging Fang's first wide cut and wreathing her own blade in fire in her retaliating strike. "Picture the effect in your head, feel it in your mind, and make it happen."

Fang felt the air by her ear crackle as she narrowly ducked Lightning's next thunder-charged follow up, and she staggered backwards a pace, her mind a blur of defensive and status magic tactics that she roughly pushed aside. Elemental magic was the name of the game - it was just so damn hard to remember that when Lightning was swinging her blade at Fang's head every other breath. 

"Focus!" Lightning ordered, and Fang bit back a frustrated snarl.

The afternoon wore on as they fought - or as Lightning beat her into the ground, Fang thought uncharitably - and her breath had become ragged and short as she charged at Lightning again. She focused on the length of her lance, the patterned edges that magic could flow through and cling to, in the way Lightning ordered her to again and again.  


Somewhere in her head, something clicked. Her scarred brand grew cold and then unbearably _hot_ as she locked weapons with Lightning, bearing down on the other woman with only a fraction of her usual power, struggling with something different burning through her aching arms -

Fang's lance crackled with electricity and she swatted Lightning's weapon down, sending the other end of her lance whipping around to catch Lightning in the side. She ducked the blade and flipped away, and it was only then that Fang noticed the tiny smile curling the corners of her mouth.

"Very good." Lightning's voice was terse, but her eyes were warm as she levelled her blade at Fang once more. "Again." 

It wasn't exactly all easy from there, but now that Fang knew what to look for in her mind and how the magic felt as it flowed down her arms to her weapon, it came more easily to her. She clashed weapons again and again with Lightning, trying out every possible spell combination, and while they felt weak they were still there and that - combined with that respect in Lightning's eyes - made the whole day of busting her arse seem worth it.

Finally, as the shadows in the Vallis Media grew long and Fang missed her mark three times in a row, Lightning lowered her weapon, her damp hair sticking to her forehead and neck and her chest heaving. Fang took that as her cue to collapse gratefully onto the cool grass, letting her aching body rest for a few moments as she caught her breath. She heard the grass move as Lightning sat down next to her, and Fang looked up from under the forearm she'd slung across her eyes.

"Maybe now I'll be a bit more useful," Fang said breathlessly, grinning, and Lightning's gaze cut across to her.

"Useful? Is that what this was about?" Lightning asked, still sounding a little winded, but her tone was sharp enough that Fang began second-guess her words.

"Maybe. To an extent, I suppose." Fang pushed herself up onto her elbows, looking at the narrow section of deep blue sky above them. "Didn't want to seem like a one-trick chocobo, so to speak."

"Fang." Lightning sounded amused and exasperated by the admission, and Fang listened to her move of the grass. "Don't underestimate the good you already do. You're fine, just the way you are."

"That's very sentimental of you." Flattering too, though Fang kept _that_ part of it to herself. "But it's appreciated. Still, you can't deny that there's a certain tactical advantage to me knowing this."

"You have a point." Lightning nodded and rose to her feet a little unsteadily. She cast Fang a look for a moment, as if she wanted to say more, but eventually she seemed to think better of it. Without a further word, Lightning headed back toward base camp, and Fang wondered what had crossed the other woman's mind then. 

Now alone, Fang sat herself up and curled her legs underneath her. She'd learned the elemental strikes in an afternoon when only hours ago she'd been convinced she couldn't so much as summon an icicle. Lightning wasn't a bad teacher, all things said and done, and it had been... nice. 

Fang raised her hand to eye level, reaching inside to that part of her that she now knew for certain existed. A tiny spark of a thunder spell danced just above her palm, wrapping around her fingers and making her skin tingle. She closed her hand on the spell with a smile.

Maybe she did like elemental magic after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interestingly, I've found Fang actually makes a pretty good Ravager when she's levelled up. It's just the CP cost that is unbearable without a lot of grinding! She gets all the auto abilities, basic and -ra versions of all spells, the full aero range and all strikes. Not bad!
> 
> In contrast, I've found that Lightning makes a rather garbage saboteur...


	2. Jinx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fact that the continuation has been written so quickly is all thanks to the fact that FangRai Feb became a thing. Please enjoy!

Fang was still feeling the buzz from her successful lessons with Lightning a few days later. A part of Fang couldn't help but silently gloat that she was actually starting to become better at elemental magic than _Vanille,_ which had earned her more than a few pouts and pointy elbows in her side when the smug looks had gotten out of hand. 

Could she be blamed for being a little happy about it? Etro knew they had little else going in their favour, what with Gran Pulse in ruins and crawling with savage fauna. At least she was better equipped to help the other l'Cie hone their skills and explore their magic now. 

Of course, that joyful buzz abruptly fizzled out when they; ran face first into a Humbaba, as she, Lightning and Hope had been scouring the narrow paths of the Faultwarrens for more monsters to sharpen their skills on. 

After having spent most of the morning sticking to the plan of throwing enemies off with magic-enhanced strikes and harrying them with short bursts of rapid-fire magic, Fang fell into a familiar rhythm with Lightning and Hope as the group scattered. 

The Humbaba, apparently having been looking for a meal, bellowed and charged at Hope. Fang clicked her tongue in annoyance - while it was _logical_ for the beast to go for what it perceived to be the weakest in the pack, it was still a bloody pain in the arse. 

Sticking two fingers in her mouth, Fang whistled sharply while Hope awkwardly dodged off to the side, dragging the beast's attention away from the kid. The Humbaba whirled at the sound, prey forgotten as she waved to it. Fang felt the ground tremble beneath her feet as the beast surged toward her, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lightning sprint after it. 

Getting the message immediately, Fang set her stance, and as the Humbaba lashed out with its clawed forepaw, Fang brought her lance across in both of her hands. She growled under her breath as she caught the blow squarely on the centre of weapon, feeling her knees buckle slightly before she rallied and threw the beast backwards. Etro her arms hurt, but it had held the Humbaba's attention for just long enough for Lightning and Hope to make their move. 

The spells and strikes bounced off the Humbaba's leathery hide while Fang dashed back a few paces for some breathing space. She saw Hope's face contort in concentration as he let a thundaga spell roar from his fingertips, but magic didn't even make the Humbaba so much as flinch as the residual static flickered over its body.

Huh. Humbaba had gotten a lot nastier over the five hundred years she'd been asleep, and as much as Fang enjoyed showing off her progress as a ravager to Lightning, something had to give. Flinging an aero into the Humbaba's face to distract it, Fang called out,

"Thing is near immune to magic - what's the plan?" The next strike Fang blocked jarred her forearms painfully, and she bit back a curse. 

 _"Changing_ it," she heard Lightning snap from over the other side of the monster. She sounded slightly puffed, which seemed just a little unfair as Fang had been doing pretty much all the grunt work so far. 

"You have any suggestions?" Hope asked, cool healing magic arcing from his hands to Fang's arms. She bared her teeth in a grin. 

"I do have something in mind," Fang replied, adding silently, _And it isn't hitting stuff or getting hit._

She wasn't still bitter about that at all. Without a further word, Fang threw a rapid volley of status spells at the Humbaba, just a random selection of what she knew and desperate for any of them to take a hold. 

As a daze spell left her outstretched hand, the Humbaba paused in its headlong charge at her, clawing at the ground and shaking its head. Fang felt herself smile finally. _That_ was better, and she took advantage of the Humbaba's momentary disorientation to layer on a few more status spells. Imperil, deprotect, daze, slow - while Hope and Lightning made slow work with their elemental magic, Fang threw the beast off balance again and hit it hard when it flinched at her magic. 

After that, the battle was blessedly short - far more than it could have been if they'd stayed with the 'tried and true' plan with the elemental magic. Fang finally ripped her lance free of the Humbaba's throat with a sharp jerk, turning to both Hope and Lightning as she shouldered it. 

"That went well," Fang told them, her smile widening as Hope nodded and Lightning... Lightning looked thoughtful. Fang didn't have time to dwell on that as Hope pointed to something over Fang's shoulder. She turned at the gesture, frowning as something flitted back through the narrow gorge up ahead. 

"I think that's Titan's next mark over there. I mean, shouldn't we...?" Hope trailed off, dropping his hand to his side as he shot Fang and Lightning a look that seemed a little uncertain. Fang heard Lightning scoff, even if it lacked real venom. 

"This Titan fal'Cie is like a kid. What exactly are we doing, running around at its whim?" Lightning sheathed her weapon at her side, and Fang laughed. 

"He just wants to share his playthings. Etro only knows how long the poor guy has been all alone." Fang heard Lightning snort at that, but the woman didn't make any further comment as the group started to make its way up the narrow paths ahead.

###

They called it quits fairly early on in the afternoon, the challenge of the Faultwarrens proving too much for even Lightning's single-minded focus and Fang's own stubbornness in besting it. There would be another time for it, Fang had supposed as they had arrived back at base camp. Well, provided they didn't all turn into cie'th in the night, anyway. 

Shaking her head to dispel the morbid thoughts dogging her, Fang had leaned her back up against a rock as she watched the other l'Cie move about the camp. The afternoon sunlight made her eyelids feel heavy, and she probably napped once or twice. Sazh and Hope were trying to construct some sort of radio out of parts that they'd salvaged from the ruins, and Snow was sitting at the camp's fireplace, chatting to Vanille as she rummaged through supplies for more food. 

Fang frowned, her sleepy contentment quickly morphing into razor-sharp focus as she realised that one member of her family was missing from the picture. Groaning softly under her breath, Fang used her lance to haul herself to her feet, feeling just a little put out at having to move from her spot in the sun. Lightning knew how dangerous Gran Pulse was, and that no matter how strong they all thought they were, there were monsters out there that ate l'Cie for breakfast. 

Fortunately, it didn't take Fang long to locate the missing soldier. Lightning was leaning against the rough-hewn stone just where the Vallis Media opened out into the Steppe, and her hand was on her weapon as she seemed to watch something in the distance. Fang tracked her gaze, frowning as she spotted Titan moving around behind the mountain range. 

"Something on your mind?" Fang asked, dispensing with the pleasantries as she leaned a shoulder on the cliff beside Lightning. She took in the line of Lightning's jaw and the slope of her neck, enjoying the view before Lightning turned her attention back to Fang with a sigh.  

"You could say that," Lightning said, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "The fight with the Humbaba. It was... Impressive."

"Not that I'm disagreeing, but you have seen me work my charms before. Any particular reason we're only noticing it now?" Fang slanted her a closer look, chewing the inside of her cheek. Lightning looked thoughtful still - come to think of it, just like the expression she wore at the end of the fight itself.

"Seeing it in action, it made me think on your own words of a few days ago. That there will be a tactical advantage to me learning that magic."

Fang felt like she was unable to resist the smile twitching at the corner of her lips at that admission. 

"No arguments here. But I can help, if that's what you're asking." Fang spread her hands wide, finally giving into the urge to smile like a fool. "After all, you did me a solid a few days back with the whole elemental magic thing."

Fang rather enjoyed the slight reversal of their roles, and she certainly wasn't going to argue against spending more time with Lightning. And hell, she was allowed to admit that she was flattered that Lightning had gone to _her_ instead of Vanille, who in Fang's opinion was by far the better saboteur of the two of them, thanks to her Death magic.

Besides, the way Lightning then smirked back at her was damn-near enough to make her heart skip a few beats.

###

Fang chose a secluded spot in the Vallis Media, not all that far from the other l'Cie but tucked out of sight of any prying eyes. She knew she hadn't wanted an audience when she'd been attempting to learn elemental magic - Lightning probably felt the same. 

"You know..." Fang began conversationally, as they both sat down on the sunny grass. "I could just poison you repeatedly, and make you learn the same way that you made _me_ learn."

Fang was happy to ignore the fact that she didn't really know how a poison spell worked, because why ruin a good line with the facts?

Lightning had the nerve to roll her eyes at Fang. "You learned, didn't you?"

"Nothing like a good kick to the head to consolidate the learning, right?" Fang teased, in good spirits about the whole thing. She was happy with the results of Lightning's training though, no matter her complaints and her sore body afterward.

Lightning seemed to sense that, as she looked more amused by the taunt than anything else. Fang, still smiling a little to herself, gestured vaguely for Lightning to close her eyes and turn her attention to the magic inside her.

"Status magic is like... Feeling real spiteful." Fang laughed shortly, shaking her head as she tried not to grimace at her own explanation. "Like you want to tear something down, so you hammer at your enemies, and make it so that you _can._ Slow, deprotect, deshell, poison, imperil, fog, pain - sky's the limit when you're trying to find that one spell that can best ruin the other guy's day."

Lightning cracked an eye open for a moment. "Real charming." 

"You asked." Fang grinned, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched Lightning focus again. Fang had to admit that she was a little entranced by the way those long curls managed to stubbornly fall over Lightning's shoulder no matter the circumstance. She was also far too distracted by the curve of those lips, and Fang cleared her throat a little guiltily.

"I reckon you'll get the hang of it quick, too," Fang said, letting the words redirect her attention from the warm feeling that had started up in the pit of her stomach. "Just need the kickstarter and you'll be laughing." 

Admittedly, Fang rather wanted to see that amazing smile one more time -

Lightning's eyes opened, and she frowned over at Fang. 

"Demonstrate for me." Lightning didn't so much as ask it as command it, but Fang was willing to let it slide for the once. 

Without a further word, Fang gestured in the air, twisting her hand around as she summoned a shadowy ball of magic, all black and vivid blue. She didn't let it touch her skin - she'd learned that lesson before - as she held it up for Lightning to examine more closely. 

"Daze," Fang said softly. "It's what threw the Humbaba so badly off his game today. You hit someone when they're under this, and you can damn-near break skulls." 

Lightning looked as if she was going to reach out and touch the magic, her eyes narrowed and thoughtful. She must have wisely thought better of it, because after a moment, she let her hand fall back into her lap. 

"You feeling anything from it?" Fang ventured, tilting her head and letting the daze evaporate into the warm air. 

Lightning frowned at the question though, seeming to hesitate before she nodded. "It was weak, but it was there. Let me just..." 

Lightning closed her eyes again, and this time, her whole body seemed far more tense than it had been during the last attempt. Fang watched the woman's face grow tight as she focused on something deep inside herself. In the afternoon sunlight, Fang could see the sweat gather in a sheen on the woman's brow. 

The relaxed hand she'd stretched out before tensed and became a tight fist, and after a few moments, Lightning's eyes snapped open, and she dragged in a ragged breath. 

"Still having trouble?" Fang softly clicked her tongue, and Lightning's expression changed from frustrated to irritated in the space of half a breath. 

"I will get this," Lightning told her flatly, as if Fang had outright told her otherwise. 

"I know." Fang shrugged, feeling a little puzzled at Lightning's sudden over-defensiveness. "I have complete faith that you will." 

"This shouldn't be so difficult. Healing, buffing, _defence..."_ Lightning actually looked ticked off about the strange lack of success she was having when compared to the other types of magic, and Fang put the pieces together easily.

"It really grates your gears to suck at something, doesn't it?" Fang asked mildly, and if looks could kill, she would have died on the spot there and then.

"Only because I can tell how smug it's making you." Lightning's eyebrows had drawn down sharply, her mouth pressed in a thin, flat line. 

"I hadn't breathed a word," Fang said with a wide smile, and she gave Lightning an expressive shrug. "If you want to prove me wrong, try harder."

Lightning muttered something under her breath, closing her eyes and forming an exaggerated claw with her hand - 

Dark light coalesced above her fingers, and Lightning's eyes snapped open in surprise, looking down at her hand as if she was suddenly holding onto an amphisbaena's tail. 

This was clearly not an intuitive form of magic for Lightning, but Fang had to give her points for trying anyway. If she held onto the spell any longer, though...

"Now, get rid of it, because you really don't want that nasty business hanging -" Fang cut off as she felt something hit her in the shoulder, the deep coldness rapidly seeping into her skin. She stared at Lightning, because surely that _could not_ have just happened. Fang felt her lungs clog up, her breathing becoming laboured as raw pain spread out into every fibre of her being. 

Fucking _poison._

"Oh Eden _no-"_ Fang heard Lightning groan, and she vaguely heard the woman move quickly to her side.

"Please tell me that was an accident and not your petty revenge," Fang gasped out as Lightning seized her face between both of her hands, and it was a blessed relief to feel an esuna spell whooshing through her body, like a warm wind as it scoured the bone-deep agony away. 

"It was an accident," Lightning murmured softly, and Fang blinked and looked up at her. To be fair, Lightning certainly looked mortified by what she'd done, and there was open concern in her eyes that made Fang's stomach flutter just a bit. Etro, she had such blue eyes... 

"I believe you," Fang finally replied, swallowing hard and only just realising that Lightning still had a hold on her face. "You might actually be that bad at it after all."

Lightning flushed, and she really looked like she was going to argue the point for a moment. Her expression softened, and she leaned in. 

"Can I apologise?" Lightning asked, just loud enough for Fang to hear. 

Fang tried to smirk, failing miserably as she said, "You can try."

Lightning seemed to decide something then, and Fang watched in shock as the woman leaned in and kissed her - just a press of her lips that felt lingering and sweet. Lightning pulled back far too quickly, and Fang blinked, trying to process what had just happened. 

There was really no mistaking it - Lightning had kissed her. Lightning, who was now awaiting Fang's reaction with a grim look. Was she actually worried that Fang hadn't wanted it? The only bad thing about that kiss, in Fang's mind, was that she hadn't even gotten a proper taste.

"...if poisoning me was your way of coming on to me, I swear to Etro, I need to have serious words with you." Fang tried to keep a playful lilt to her tone, smiling up at the woman. Lightning looked somewhat relieved at the response and Fang allowed the woman to help haul her to her feet. "Should we head back to camp?" 

"Are you kidding?" Lightning squeezed Fang's shoulder gently, finally rewarding Fang with that brilliant smile. "You promised to help me learn ailment spells, and we're not leaving 'til we're done."

Fang heaved a long-suffering sigh, informing Lightning of exactly what she thought of that idea. With her luck and the way things had been going, Lightning would stumble across a Death spell and _that_ would be really awkward to come back from. 

"Do I get another kiss if I say yes?" Fang asked finally, and Lightning rested her hand on her hip, shaking her head as if unable to believe Fang's unsubtle request. 

"Fine. Save it for after we're done though." Lightning smirked at her, as if she was getting exactly what she wanted out of the bargain Fang had struck with her. Etro, she probably _was._

"Deal."

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like updates as to current projects or just want to chat, feel free to come visit me on my tumblr: [zerrat](http://zerrat.tumblr.com/) (personal) and [zerratwritesstuff](http://zerratwritesstuff.tumblr.com) (writing)!


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